Eleven days after the catastrophic earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria at dawn on February 6 of this year, the death toll rose to more than 40,000 on Friday, with hopes fading of finding survivors.
Officials and medics announced that 38,044 people died in Turkey and 3,688 in Syria as a result of the devastating earthquake, bringing the confirmed total to 41,732.
Rescue operations are over
The final outcome came after Turkish rescuers pulled a 17-year-old girl and a woman in her twenties from under the rubble on Thursday.
While Turkey stopped rescue operations in some areas, and in Syria as well, where officials announced the continuation of recovering bodies.
Although a number of survivors were found in Turkey in the past hours, reports of similar rescues are far between.
Anger is mounting among families still awaiting release of missing loved ones over what they see as corrupt building practices and deeply flawed urban development that has resulted in the collapse of thousands of homes and businesses.
The deadliest natural disaster
It is noteworthy that the region had witnessed thousands of aftershocks after the devastating earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria on the sixth of February.
The losses recorded in Turkey made the earthquake the deadliest natural disaster in its contemporary history.
On Thursday, the United Nations appealed for more than $1 billion to help more than 5 million people in Turkey over the next three months.
In turn, international relief agencies confirmed the intensification of their efforts to help the millions who were left homeless, while many of them slept in tents, mosques, schools, or in their private cars.
